With a tremendous need for clothing and other essentials in nearby Haiti, several local ladies are doing what they can to answer the call, converting old pillowcases into dresses to send to the impoverished nation.
“We are actually piggy-backing on a ministry one of the ladies at our church, Faye Wakeley, started,” said Karen Marsh, one of the organizers of the event at McMinnville Church of God this past Saturday. “She makes pillowcase dresses and sends them to Haiti.”
Marsh says little girls in Haiti are required to be covered up in order to leave their homes, but given the poverty there, dresses are often too expensive. The pillowcase dresses are an answer to the problem.
“It’s something cute to wear and something they can wash in their rivers and creeks near their homes,” Marsh noted. “They are simple little dresses, but you want simplicity for us to sew and for them to take care of in Haiti.”
Marsh said the goal is to produce about 100 to 150 pillowcase dresses for shipment to Haiti. She said they would like to do their assembly line sewing project once a quarter. However, if need dictates, she said she is sure the ladies of the church could be convinced to do it more often.
“If anyone has old pillow cases that are not stained and would make a pretty dress, bring them by the church and we can use them to make the dresses,” she said.
A video of the project is on the multimedia section of this website.